Within 24 hours of Eli Manning announcing his retirement from professional football, the debate over his Hall of Fame credentials was immediately stirred up.
That’s par for the course when it comes to Manning, who has never been able to enjoy a single moment with the New York Giants without his detractors finding some reason to criticize him or bring him down.
Thankfully for Eli, he doesn’t care one bit about those beneath him.
However, Manning’s many teammates from his 16 years in football don’t take the same passive approach he does, often waging war against those haters.
Asked on Wednesday night if Manning is a Hall of Famer, Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard didn’t blink.
“Yeah,” Shepard told TMZ Sports with a look of disbelief that the question was even asked. “First ballot.”
Shepard also praised Manning as both a player and a person, crediting the two-time Super Bowl MVP for assisting him both on and off the field.
“He meant a lot [to New York],” Shepard says. “He meant a lot to me and my career. On and off the field.”
Asked for one word to describe Manning, Shepard again didn’t blink.
“Great,” the wide receiver said.
